LA ROMANZA BISTRO PAIRS WITH SIREN SONG WINES: This weekend in The Junction, it’s your next chance to try out the new Siren Song Wines tasting room inside La Romanza Bistro Italiano (4521 California SW; WSB sponsor). It’s open 3-6 pm Saturdays and Sundays. In our photo above, that’s La Romanza proprietor Aimee Pellegrini and Siren Song’s Kevin Brown.

NEW FOOD-TRUCK STOP: Delridge Way has been a popular area for many of the city’s food trucks to park when not out serving their wares. Now, though, we have word that a popular truck is adding a Delridge stop to its schedule: Starting next Monday, 11 am-2 pm, TFN, you can find the new Orleans cuisine of Where Ya At Matt in the parking lot of West Seattle Corporate Center (Delridge/Andover), also known as “the building with the big flag.”

Two updates today from Firefly Café and Creperie (WSB sponsor) – first, proprietor Charell Estby announced today that an organic juice bar is in the works! She tells us she’s “hoping to have it operational by the end of May.” It’ll be incorporated into existing space – and, the reason for the photo above: Official outdoor seating is in the works, pending a city permit, too. (Charell also points out that she found a carpenter by posting a help-wanted ad in the WSB Forums‘ free-to-post “WS Jobs Offered” section.) Meantime, just yesterday, Charell drove a load of donations over to WestSide Baby …

She is continuing to accept car seats (in good shape) and diaper donations for WS Baby through the end of the month (Tuesday, April 30) – and she’s been matching each car-seat donation with a package of diapers herself! Haven’t been to Firefly yet? Northeast corner of California and Genesee on the north edge of The Junction.

“There are two things we hear about every single day: our service, and our food. People are a little surprised that a $2.50 taco can be so tasty, and that the gal who served it to them remembers their names from last time. I don’t know how we’re changing lives, but I do know that the world can be a tough place to navigate, and everyone can have a bad day, but when you come to Marination you can count on a friendly face saying nice things and genuinely caring about this one moment in time. It’s the one part of the day where people know they are going to have an overall good experience, even if it’s just for a few minutes. We hear about it a lot. It never gets old. It’s pretty humbling, actually.

“For us and our employees, we choose to keep coming back because no matter how gray and rainy Seattle gets it’s always warm and fuzzy at any one of our locations. And that’s including the truck! We’re a really happy crew, we love being around each other. That love and happiness is definitely reflected in our grub. We’re lucky because we’ve cultivated a really strong clientele of folks who are extremely comfortable telling us directly when our rice is undercooked, or something’s amiss with the pork, and we are all over it immediately. The two things we care about the most in our company are propping up our community through various involvements and donations, and keeping our menu fresh, tasty, and affordable. So I guess if someone asked ‘why you?’ we’d ask if they are down with building a strong community and with eating great food for cheap, and if so, then that’s why. West Seattle is such a strong and awesome neighborhood community. We can’t get enough.”

Find out more about Marination ma kai – including hours (which will change with the seasons) and menu – on the Web, here. Marination is on Facebook, too, and on Twitter. And/or just go to 1660 Harbor Avenue SW (map) and investigate the food, drink, view, and general aloha, firsthand.

We thank Marination ma kai for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

Thanks to the WSB’ers who tipped us to the impending closure of Pioneer Coffee on Alki. To get details, we talked with the shop’s manager, Lisa Del Rosario. She tells WSB that after five years, Pioneer Coffee is doing well – but recently found out that its lease will not be renewed. They have to be out by the end of March. No word yet what will take over the space (no permit filings so far), but the folks at Pioneer are asking you for help: They are asking for ideas of where they might move – sooner rather than later, so they can transfer permits rather than apply for them all over again. They’ve built up a steady clientele for both coffee and afternoon/evening beer and wine, and say they love their loyal customers and hate the thought of leaving Alki and leaving them behind. Right now, they are planning a going-away party for late March, as a way of thanking those beloved customers; if they find a new location sooner, she says, it will be a grand-opening party. If you have a location suggestion – particularly in the Alki area – please e-mail Lisa at lisadelro@msn.com or call the café – 206-937-0920.

They are the C & P in C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) – Cameron and Pete Moores – and they are celebrating a milestone tonight: Ten years in business! Valentine’s Day 2003 is when their coffee house, community gathering spot, arts hub, discussion-group hotspot, etc., opened in the century-old Craftsman it inhabits at 5612 California SW. Tonight they are greeting friends old and new during a party that was wall-to-wall people when we stopped by for a photo – including a kids’ fishing game on the back porch, and Bob “Bobcat Bob” Rice performing somewhere amid the revelers. C & P hosts a wide range of events every month – keep an eye on the calendar here. Congratulations, C & P!

8:20 PM: If you’re just seeing this now – all gone, reports WSBC.

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 6:08 PM: In March of last year, we reported that a stretch of Harbor Avenue including the Alki Tavern‘s site was up for sale, listed for almost $4 million. Tonight, the tavern has announced via Facebook that it’s closing:

Well, it’s finally true… After 38 years the Alki Tavern will be closing on March 17th… St Patrick’s Day. Let’s make these last 3 months unforgettable!

King County property records show transactions including the tavern site within the past two weeks. We’re following up to find out more.

(Inside Alki Tavern tonight)
ADDED 7:17 PM: WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand has just spoken with Alki Tavern manager Gill McLynne, who is the son of its current owners (and has a brother working there too). He confirms that they’re moving because of a pending project, and says the family does not plan to try to re-create the Alki Tavern somewhere else – you can’t duplicate something that’s one of a kind. So between now and St. Patrick’s Day – a closing day they chose because of their Irish heritage, and the fact it was always a big day at the tavern – watch for some special celebratory nights so people can come by and say goodbye, including, he said, nights to honor some of the former bartenders and servers. He estimates as many as 300 people have worked there over the years. Since it’s a family-run business with many regular customers, it’ll be sad to say goodbye, he said, but he and his family will work to make the final few months special for the regulars as well as for the whole neighborhood.

ADDED 9:36 PM: County records show the sale spanning two transactions on December 21 and 24, with Salty’s Properties listed as selling the entire site to YMSA Co. Ltd. for $3.2 million in one transaction on the 21st (the same day YMSA registered with the state, listing its company directors as two people with addresses in Korea), and the tavern owners’ interests deeded to Salty’s Properties for $392,000 on the 24th. We could not find any specific development proposal filed online so far for any part of the site, though there were land-use consultations in fall of 2011; the land is zoned for up to 65 feet (six stories).

*Restaurants – here
*Coffee shops – here
*Grocery stores – here

Please also note, this research has taken the better part of the past two weeks, and there’s always a chance a business will change its plan – so we’d advise you to set out (especially on Christmas Day) with Plans A and B. For more information on local establishments, you can also check their listings in the WSB West Seattle Restaurant Guide. (And if you are a businessperson or customer and see something on our lists NOW that you know isn’t correct – or something missing – please e-mail us! editor@westseattleblog.com)

(WSB photo: Jan, Jane, and at center, manager Dolly)
The word “premier” isn’t just a label; this is not your average liquor store. Capco Beverages‘ stock includes unusual and rare spirits. “We have things you won’t find anywhere else in West Seattle: bourbons, scotches, tequila,” store manager Dolly Amend says. “All the local Seattle area bourbons. Our Scotch section is constantly growing. We want to have the best selection of Scotch, bourbons, gins, liqueurs, tequila and vodkas anywhere in the state.” The Scotch section of the store is absolutely the best in the city, if not the state, says Dolly – single malts, for example, you might never have found in Seattle before, such as Laddie Classic, Ledaig, Tobermory.

Capco Beverages also offers an extensive tequila section, with what aficionados call “fantastic mezcals,” and a selection of liqueurs from all over the world: Italian Amari, pastis from France, Cynar, every possible fruit liqueur. Dolly says that if a product is listed with a distributor, she will stock it. If a customer asks and it isn’t on the shelf, she will try to get it. And dozens of made-in-Washington labels are in stock.

Its merchandise also includes a collection of Alki t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and caps, martini shakers, and just about every tool and ingredient for making cocktails – including tipsy cherries, cocktail onions, many bitters, even a special salt to rim your Margaritas. Plus ginger beer, soda, tonics and many different vermouths. We also have wine and drink gift baskets ready to purchase – or custom baskets can be made.

“Grocery stores wouldn’t have room to carry the 3000-plus brands and sizes of liquor we have now,” Dolly says, also pointing out that Capco Beverages has a “huge, wonderful selection of wine.”

Capco Beverages is at 41st and Alaska, in Capco Plaza (same building as QFC and Petco). You’ll also find the store on Facebook. And you can use a special coupon you’ll find here on WSB to get a discount on your purchase.

HOLIDAY NOTE: Capco Beverages plans to be OPEN Thanksgiving Day – 10 am-2 pm. Regular hours are listed online.

We thank Capco Beverages for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

This is Scott and Chris here, telling all yall, this is the end. The ship is wrecked. We will be closing the doors this Sunday the 18th. We want to thank everyone for all their support and especially to all the wonderful musicians who have graced this bar. Also everything is for sale so come in and have one last beer with to celebrate a new beginning and buy some nautical s–t, and grab your stein if you have one. We love you all and thanks again.

It’s been three years since Shipwreck Tavern opened, meant to be a nautical-themed haven for drinks and tunes.

(Photo courtesy Krystal Kelley)
A new wine/beer lounge opens Halloween night in The Admiral District – and it’s intended to be a treat, says entrepreneur Krystal Kelley, whose Mind Unwind gallery/gathering space at 2206 California SW will also now be home to the Treehouse Lounge. It’s in the gallery of the loft, previously a “greatly unused space,” and Krystal says she’s been working on it for about a month, with colleagues J. Conrad Nivens and Zac Hutchins. It’ll be open Wednesdays through Sundays, 5 pm to midnight, with Happy Hour 6-8 pm – and Happy Hour all night ($5 house wine/draft beer) on Grand Opening night Wednesday. Read the rest of the Treehouse Lounge story on the Mind Unwind website; Treehouse Lounge also is on Facebook, here.

Espresso is back at 16th and Holden in Highland Park! This is opening day for Jenny’s Java Joint, and proprietor Jen Francisco is thrilled to be up and running, with coffee from Zoka. (The congratulatory flowers on the left side of our photo are from family members, as she explained on Facebook.) We brought you her story just four weeks ago – and now her dream is reality. She’s open till 2 today, 6-2 tomorrow, 5-2 Mondays-Saturdays.

In a cozy century-old ex-carriage house on the north edge of The Junction, Lora Swift and her Hotwire Online Coffeehouse team are celebrating 10 years in business. If you’ve been there, you know it’s not just a coffee shop/Internet café with tasty drinks and eats – it’s a nerve center, a touchstone, a launch pad. (As our first sponsor, Hotwire helped WSB get off the ground!) Lora launched herself out of a corporate career to get Hotwire started in 2002, and over the years has become involved in much more than beverage purveyorship – to name just one offshoot, there’s the annual West Seattle Outdoor Movies series in the adjacent courtyard. The crowd on this year’s finale night (August 25th) was wall-to-wall:

If you weren’t at Hotwire today to say “happy 10th,” no worries, the party continues. You even might check on the availability of the T-shirt Lora designed to honor the occasion – see it here – and to celebrate the community she enriches.